According to Madeline Jones, it was not a joke – it was a series of misquotes. Jones took the time to compose a diplomatic comment on my article, which I really appreciate. I think it says quite a bit about a person when they can respond to criticism and clarify the truth without shooting the messenger, so to speak. Here’s what she said:

Hi Corina, Radar Online absolutely misquoted me in this piece. When I was asked what types of comments we have received from our readers about Crystal Renn’s weight loss, I gave them both positive and negative comments and they only printed the negative banter and then went further and said it was coming from me. I’m beyond disgusted with this website and will never give them another interview again. Madeline Jones Editor PLUS Model Magazine

Hi Madeline,

Thank you so much for commenting! I will absolutely add an update to my original post, and write a new one, clarifying the situation. I appreciate that you took the time to respond so tactfully despite the negative tone of my own article. I would be furious if a website misquoted me in that manner and I will do my (small) part to inform people of what happened.

Thanks again, Corina

I was, and have been furious about it ever since. I was interviewed once before by them without any issues so I did not see any reason for concern. Once this happened, I found out I was not the only one they have done this to in the plus size community. It’s a shame they have to resort to such shady behavior for “numbers”. If I was you I would have felt the same way, so no worries. I have committed my life to celebrating women and will not let this incident stop me. :-) Have a great day! Madeline Jones

If Jones is telling the truth (and my gut + the evidence says that she most likely is), this is a gross example of falsified reporting. Either that or a huge mistake wherein someone at Radar.com somehow misplaced part of their notes or something, but that hardly seems plausible.

Part of why I was so upset with Jones is because of her role in the plus size world. Her online publications are supposed to lift women up, and help them to feel comfortable in a world that is more or less designed for smaller individuals. The statements made in the Radar Online interview implied that she disdains thin women and feels like they are the enemy. It’s nice to hear that she has a more grounded perspective on the matter.

Nonetheless, it still means that some PLUS Model Magazine readers took Crystal Renn’s weight loss extremely personally. It’s almost more upsetting when you know that multiple people contributed those comments, instead of just one. Granted, it was weird to think that one person had so many negative things to say on the matter. But now I’m distressed at the idea of many plus size women, roaming the world and unleashing their fury on any model who dares to lose weight. I’m hoping those comments represented a small subset of readers, and Radar Online focused on them because of their potential for sensationalism. Jones also noted that she provided Radar with positive quotes from readers, but they chose not to include them.

Since I called out Madeline Jones so vehemently, I’m now extending the same courtesy to Radar Online. What the hell, Radar? We’re at a point now where online news is held to the same standards as print media news. That includes fact-checking, proper attribution of quotes, and presenting the entire side of the story. Maybe I expected too much of them? Per the “about” section of their Facebook page:

I guess it’s silly to expect them to distinguish between news and gossip, but purposely misleading readers doesn’t fit into either of those categories. When I first wrote about this, I listed all of the quotes attributed to Jones. Here’s the full article, included so that you can see how the quotes are presented: (I’ve noted the misleading parts in bold)

Former plus size model and anorexia survivor Crystal Renn’s dramatic weight loss has sparked outrage in the plus size community who have supported her and helped launch her career, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

“Everyone rallied around her and now she’s turned against us,” PLUS Model Magazine Editor-in-Chief Madeline Jones told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview. “We have been betrayed by her.”

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the 5’9” beauty was a shadow of her former self when she walked the red carpet in a skintight scarlet Zac Posen gown at the New York premiere of Madonna’s W.E. on Monday night, prompting fears she has fallen back into bad habits.

“After Emme, Crystal was the biggest plus size supermodel in our era and a lot of readers aspired to be like her,” explained Jones, adding that now they feel betrayed by the fashion icon they helped make a star.

“We supported her one hundred percent.”

The 25-year-old model has been open about her struggles with eating disorders in the past, penning a tell-all book called Hungry: A Young Model’s Story of Appetite, Ambition and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves.

She went on to enjoy several years as a plus-sized model before revealing in November 2010 that she had dropped several dress sizes due to taking up hiking and yoga.

Jones for one doesn’t believe her explanation. “You don’t lose that much weight doing yoga and hiking! You have to put a lot of effort to go from a 14 to a size 6,” she told RadarOnline.com. “We’re not that stupid, we know how hard it is to lose weight and she insulted our intelligence.

“The thinner she got the more she was being pitched to mainstream brands. Suddenly the same woman who wrote Hungry was slimming and slimming.

“Once she got down to a size 10 she lost the support of a lot of people. We’re disappointed because she was our star fighting for equality and fashion for us, and now she’s going to their side.

“It is sad that she’s turned her back on us,” lamented Jones.

Renn recently blasted back to critics on her Ford Models blog: “When this whole weight loss thing happened, I think that a lot of people wanted to point their finger at somebody. I think that they wanted to find a conspiracy where there absolutely was none,” she wrote.

While Jones understands that it is Renn’s freedom of choice to lose weight, she says she should have been honest about her motivations.

“She should have said she wasn’t comfortable in her skin anymore and wanted to make more money. Instead she has deceived us and we feel insulted!

“It would be great for her to come out with a better explanation, though I doubt we will get one.”